The present invention relates to the 32 millimeter ("mm") cabinetmaking system, which is a highly structured approach to cabinet construction. The 32 mm system is used primarily in constructing kitchen cabinets and is often referred to as frameless construction due to the absence of a traditional face-frame. The system was developed in Europe as a means to mass produce cabinet components in a factory using melaminecoated particle board and other man-made sheet materials like plywood, ship the components disassembled to the construction site, and assemble the cabinets on-site with ease. The structural rigidity of cabinets made with the 32 mm system results from the very narrow tolerances maintained in panel size and dowel and fixture mounting hole location.
By virtue of the sheer number of holes required for the typical 32 mm system cabinet and the dependence of the structural integrity of the cabinet on the accuracy of the placement of dowel holes, the 32 mm system does not lend itself well to being utilized where hand drilling is the only drilling method available. Large cabinetmaking shops often use expensive computer numerically controlled ("CNC") machines to cut and drill cabinet panels at phenomenal speeds. However, the cost of reprogramming CNC machines and the resulting down-time is prohibitive in small volume production.
An alternative is less expensive pneumatically controlled machines. The set-up time for a pneumatically controlled machine, although a fraction of what its CNC counterpart requires, still represents a substantial amount of time and is prohibitive in producing cabinets in small volumes, is still too expensive for a small shop producing low volume, custom cabinets, and is simply out of the question for the industrious homeowner willing to tackle the manufacture of his or her own kitchen cabinets.
A final alternative is to hand drill all holes. This option is inexpensive and requires virtually zero set-up time. However, because of the accuracy needed in the 32 mm system, hand drilling is not a viable alternative unless some sort of jig is used. Such jigs exist, but do little more than facilitate the drilling of one row of fixture mounting holes at a time, at specific intervals apart, on the face of the panel a set distance from the edge. Existing jigs do not have all of the features necessary to complete every aspect of the 32 mm system, such as providing a means to accurately drill the dowel holes in the ends and edges of a panel.